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The Warslayer
LIVE THE LEGEND!
Gloria "Glory" McArdle plays Vixen the Slayer in a straight-to-syndication TV show where even the fans say the villain is the better actress. The wizards of Erchanen have been searching all the worlds to find a hero, and Vixen the Slayer is the last name on their list.
The Warmother, imprisoned a thousand years before by Ginnas the Warkiller, has broken free of her ancient chains. If a hero can't be found somewhere in all the universes to fight for them, the people of Erchanen are toast. But is it Glory they're looking for... or Vixen?
It all seemed to be a perfectly straightforward misunderstanding when Belegir was explaining it in Glory's dressing room. The reality—if you could call it that—isn't just fighting for her life. Faced with a challenge like that, what can a girl do but pick up her magic sword and her stuffed elephant and give her trademark battle cry:
"Hi-yi-yi-yi! Come, Camrado! Evil wakes!"
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (DRM Rights Management).
Can be found online at Baen Free Library
Gloria "Glory" McArdle plays Vixen the Slayer in a straight-to-syndication TV show where even the fans say the villain is the better actress. The wizards of Erchanen have been searching all the worlds to find a hero, and Vixen the Slayer is the last name on their list.
The Warmother, imprisoned a thousand years before by Ginnas the Warkiller, has broken free of her ancient chains. If a hero can't be found somewhere in all the universes to fight for them, the people of Erchanen are toast. But is it Glory they're looking for... or Vixen?
It all seemed to be a perfectly straightforward misunderstanding when Belegir was explaining it in Glory's dressing room. The reality—if you could call it that—isn't just fighting for her life. Faced with a challenge like that, what can a girl do but pick up her magic sword and her stuffed elephant and give her trademark battle cry:
"Hi-yi-yi-yi! Come, Camrado! Evil wakes!"
At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (DRM Rights Management).
Can be found online at Baen Free Library
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 30, 2002
32 people are currently reading
435 people want to read
About the author
Rosemary Edghill
97 books137 followersShe was born long enough ago to have seen Classic Trek on its first outing and to remember that she once thought Spock Must Die! to be great literature. As she aged, she put aside her fond dreams of taking over for Batman when he retired, and returned to her first love, writing. Her first SF sale (as Eluki Bes Shahar) was the Hellflower series, in which Damon Runyon meets Doc Smith over at the old Bester place. Between books and short stories in every genre but the Western (several dozen so far), she's held the usual selection of odd and part-time writer jobs, including bookstore clerk, secretary, beta tester for computer software, graphic designer, book illustrator, library clerk, and administrative assistant for a non-profit arts organization. She can truthfully state that she once killed vampires for a living, and that without any knowledge of medicine has illustrated half-a-dozen medical textbooks.
Her last name -- despite the efforts of editors, reviewers, publishing houses, her webmaster, and occasionally her own fingers -- is not spelled 'Edgehill'.
Also writes under the name Eluki Bes Shahar.
Her last name -- despite the efforts of editors, reviewers, publishing houses, her webmaster, and occasionally her own fingers -- is not spelled 'Edgehill'.
Also writes under the name Eluki Bes Shahar.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
August 13, 2016
-Heroína a su pesar, o contra todo pronóstico más bien.-
Género. Narrativa fantástica.
Lo que nos cuenta. Gloria McArdle, Glory para los amigos, es una antigua deportista de élite que actualmente es la estrella principal de la serie de televisión “The Incredibly True Adventures of Vixen the Slayer”, un producto australiano de serie B fantástica sobre una ninja cazadora de vampiros en la Inglaterra victoriana que ha tenido un gran éxito en el mercado internacional y que ha generado mucho dinero, haciendo de Gloria toda una celebridad. Durante un gira promocional en los Estados Unidos de América, y justo antes de entrar en un plató totalmente caracterizada como Vixen, recibe la inesperada visita de tres personajes de aspecto extrañamente exótico y vestidos con lo que parece ser una extraña clase de hábitos, que se identifican como los Allimir y ruegan ayuda para salvar la tierra de Erchanen de una terrible amenaza.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Narrativa fantástica.
Lo que nos cuenta. Gloria McArdle, Glory para los amigos, es una antigua deportista de élite que actualmente es la estrella principal de la serie de televisión “The Incredibly True Adventures of Vixen the Slayer”, un producto australiano de serie B fantástica sobre una ninja cazadora de vampiros en la Inglaterra victoriana que ha tenido un gran éxito en el mercado internacional y que ha generado mucho dinero, haciendo de Gloria toda una celebridad. Durante un gira promocional en los Estados Unidos de América, y justo antes de entrar en un plató totalmente caracterizada como Vixen, recibe la inesperada visita de tres personajes de aspecto extrañamente exótico y vestidos con lo que parece ser una extraña clase de hábitos, que se identifican como los Allimir y ruegan ayuda para salvar la tierra de Erchanen de una terrible amenaza.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
March 4, 2012
"Hi-yi-yi-yi! Come, Camrado! Evil wakes!"
I cannot say enough about this deceptive little book. At first it seems like pure mind-candy. Our heroine, a cross between Buffy and Xena, gets transported to another universe to save them from evil. "Help us! You are our last hope!" (A prize for those who get the reference.) But something makes this book a little different. Read it and see.
Whenever I need a laugh, a lift, and a thought ... I come to this book. Incredibly overlooked.
Notes on reading in Feb/Mar 2012 ~ Gave it to a friend to read, ended up reading over his shoulder,then making him read it outloud to me, then reading it outloud to him, then reading it when he put it down. Makes me smile, makes me think, make me hope.
I cannot say enough about this deceptive little book. At first it seems like pure mind-candy. Our heroine, a cross between Buffy and Xena, gets transported to another universe to save them from evil. "Help us! You are our last hope!" (A prize for those who get the reference.) But something makes this book a little different. Read it and see.
Whenever I need a laugh, a lift, and a thought ... I come to this book. Incredibly overlooked.
Notes on reading in Feb/Mar 2012 ~ Gave it to a friend to read, ended up reading over his shoulder,then making him read it outloud to me, then reading it outloud to him, then reading it when he put it down. Makes me smile, makes me think, make me hope.
June 13, 2014
This book was a little bit on the odd side, and I had mixed feelings about it. The main character, Glory, is an actress in a TV show similar to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Mages from another world have been traveling to different worlds in a fruitless search for a hero to help save their people. Finally in desperation, they turn toward Earth and learn about Glory's TV show. They don’t realize she isn’t a real hero, and they ask her to help them. She doesn’t intend to, and she tries to explain the mix-up to them, but things happen, and she ends up getting caught up in events in spite of herself.
I thought the story started off with a really corny feel, like it was written more for fun than to be taken seriously. For the first 25% or so of the book, I really didn’t much care for it. My most burning question during the first part of the book was, why was one of Glory’s props on the show a real (if not very sharp) sword? And of course she just happened to have it on her when she ends up in this other world. My second question was, why does Glory carry a stuffed elephant everywhere she goes? I also got a little exasperated with her constantly taking off and putting on her costume and her makeup (which she just happened to have on hand also!) so that she would look and feel more like her character. The people she was there to save also annoyed me at first because they were so helpless and so unwilling to stand up for themselves or do anything proactive.
Something happened somewhere around the 25% mark. I don’t know if I became numb to the corniness of it all, or if it became more subtle, or if the story itself simply caught my attention so well that I forgot to be bothered by how corny it was. But I suddenly couldn’t put the book down, and I didn’t want to. I somehow got caught up in the story, I started to like the characters, and I started to care about what happened. There were some interesting reveals about just what had taken place in the world Glory was trying to help, and some interesting moral dilemmas. The book may have started out silly, but it seemed to take on some more depth as things progressed. I found myself both happy and sad about the way things were resolved.
The ending wasn’t abrupt, exactly. All the main events were tied up and we were given an idea of what the future held for the characters. But I wanted to see a little bit of that future. A prologue taking place a year later would have been nice – something to give me more information about how everybody’s lives progressed as a result of the events and decisions made at the end of the book.
I had trouble figuring out how to rate this book. By the end, I was tempted to give it four stars. But I can’t forget the first 25% that I didn’t think was very good. Then there was the slightly unsatisfied feeling I had at the end of the book, and the fact that some of the things that annoyed me in the beginning (such as the stuffed animal being carried everywhere and the costume and makeup) persisted all the way through the book and provided twinges of annoyance periodically. So I decided four stars was too generous, but I would give it three and a half if I could.
I thought the story started off with a really corny feel, like it was written more for fun than to be taken seriously. For the first 25% or so of the book, I really didn’t much care for it. My most burning question during the first part of the book was, why was one of Glory’s props on the show a real (if not very sharp) sword? And of course she just happened to have it on her when she ends up in this other world. My second question was, why does Glory carry a stuffed elephant everywhere she goes? I also got a little exasperated with her constantly taking off and putting on her costume and her makeup (which she just happened to have on hand also!) so that she would look and feel more like her character. The people she was there to save also annoyed me at first because they were so helpless and so unwilling to stand up for themselves or do anything proactive.
Something happened somewhere around the 25% mark. I don’t know if I became numb to the corniness of it all, or if it became more subtle, or if the story itself simply caught my attention so well that I forgot to be bothered by how corny it was. But I suddenly couldn’t put the book down, and I didn’t want to. I somehow got caught up in the story, I started to like the characters, and I started to care about what happened. There were some interesting reveals about just what had taken place in the world Glory was trying to help, and some interesting moral dilemmas. The book may have started out silly, but it seemed to take on some more depth as things progressed. I found myself both happy and sad about the way things were resolved.
The ending wasn’t abrupt, exactly. All the main events were tied up and we were given an idea of what the future held for the characters. But I wanted to see a little bit of that future. A prologue taking place a year later would have been nice – something to give me more information about how everybody’s lives progressed as a result of the events and decisions made at the end of the book.
I had trouble figuring out how to rate this book. By the end, I was tempted to give it four stars. But I can’t forget the first 25% that I didn’t think was very good. Then there was the slightly unsatisfied feeling I had at the end of the book, and the fact that some of the things that annoyed me in the beginning (such as the stuffed animal being carried everywhere and the costume and makeup) persisted all the way through the book and provided twinges of annoyance periodically. So I decided four stars was too generous, but I would give it three and a half if I could.
May 8, 2013
At this point, there's a long tradition of "Earth person with an esoteric career gets magically transported to a fantasy realm requiring exactly their skills". Fortunately, this is a reasonably good example of the genre. Glory is sufficiently genre-aware to sidestep a lot of the more tedious bits (later in the book, a reference is even made to GalaxyQuest). Even better, the folks who brought her over are actually aware that she's an actress, not a demon slayer--they're just desperate enough to give it a try anyway. And it turns out there's a very good reason why those folks are so helpless on their own that even an Olympic gymnast-turned-mediocre actress might be a better hero than anything their own people can offer. So we can comfortably sit back and enjoy the culture clash without wanting to shake anyone for being too stupid.
And it's a fun little romp, if a little disjointed. The stakes are suitably high, some of the minor characters are appealing, and the origin of the villain turns out to be fairly chilling. Some bits make less sense, though--the other peoples of the world seem to exist only when it's plot-convenient for them to do so. Same goes for evil critters. It's also pretty unclear how much events are or are not being manipulated by gods/fate--it seems to change a bit, again depending on what the plot demands.
The most irritating bit, though, is Glory's encounter with the Oracle. A manipulative all-powerful being appears abruptly out of nowhere, and (minor spoilers, but deserved) never appears again. It's as if the author couldn't figure out how to get Glory properly invested in the plot, threw in a deus ex machina in the middle to scare her straight, and then got to the end with this unresolved and say "eh, whatever". Really, there was no reason to put Earth in jeopardy at all, since there's no follow through.
On the other hand, there's a hilarious appendix with capsule reviews of all of the first season of Glory's camptastic show. Which may be worth reading all by itself.
And it's a fun little romp, if a little disjointed. The stakes are suitably high, some of the minor characters are appealing, and the origin of the villain turns out to be fairly chilling. Some bits make less sense, though--the other peoples of the world seem to exist only when it's plot-convenient for them to do so. Same goes for evil critters. It's also pretty unclear how much events are or are not being manipulated by gods/fate--it seems to change a bit, again depending on what the plot demands.
The most irritating bit, though, is Glory's encounter with the Oracle. A manipulative all-powerful being appears abruptly out of nowhere, and (minor spoilers, but deserved) never appears again. It's as if the author couldn't figure out how to get Glory properly invested in the plot, threw in a deus ex machina in the middle to scare her straight, and then got to the end with this unresolved and say "eh, whatever". Really, there was no reason to put Earth in jeopardy at all, since there's no follow through.
On the other hand, there's a hilarious appendix with capsule reviews of all of the first season of Glory's camptastic show. Which may be worth reading all by itself.
January 23, 2017
The Warslayer is a tongue-in-cheek, self-aware fantasy version of the movie Galaxy Quest. Our heroine is Glory McArdle, former Olympic athlete and gym teacher turned TV serial actress who portrays Vixen the Slayer, a red-headed Amazon type persona that's a cross between Red Sonja and Xena. As those who have watched the aforementioned movie can deduce, our protagonist becomes mistaken for the character she plays and is transported by an alien species to their homeworld via magical teleportation. All of a sudden she is the sole hope for the survival of this peaceful people.
I had no real expectations coming into this novel, other than the title and cover art lowering the bar a little. I was actually pleasantly surprised. The story was entertaining and amusing, chock full of pop culture references as the heroine realizes just how ridiculous the entire scenario is. She grows from being the bad television actress she was into the heroine needed. It was bit slow at first and parts of the plot were disjointed, but overall it's a silly yet fun fantasy lark that doesn't take itself seriously.
I had no real expectations coming into this novel, other than the title and cover art lowering the bar a little. I was actually pleasantly surprised. The story was entertaining and amusing, chock full of pop culture references as the heroine realizes just how ridiculous the entire scenario is. She grows from being the bad television actress she was into the heroine needed. It was bit slow at first and parts of the plot were disjointed, but overall it's a silly yet fun fantasy lark that doesn't take itself seriously.
November 3, 2020
This is essentially Buffy the Vampire Slayer + Xena: Warrior Princess + Galaxy Quest, all of which both the story and its protagonist - former gymnast turned TV action heroine Gloria McArdle - are fully aware. It's not a new story, but it's a pretty enjoyable variant, and more serious than the premise might imply.
July 27, 2021
Been meaning to read this book for some time now - shouldn't have waited so long.
I know the plot is an old one - TV star gets transported and has to save the world... but Glory/Vixen/slayer is such a relatable character that you just gotta love her. Bit like a Xena in training. Dialog is a bit Australian but that just adds to the appeal.
Warmly recommended
I know the plot is an old one - TV star gets transported and has to save the world... but Glory/Vixen/slayer is such a relatable character that you just gotta love her. Bit like a Xena in training. Dialog is a bit Australian but that just adds to the appeal.
Warmly recommended
July 1, 2017
A mish mash
Tv superhero gets sent to alternate universe. Must defeat ultimate evil. A good plot. A little short on detail? The plot synopses at the end were mildly amusing.
Tv superhero gets sent to alternate universe. Must defeat ultimate evil. A good plot. A little short on detail? The plot synopses at the end were mildly amusing.
January 18, 2020
This has been one of my favorites since the first time I read it. I honestly wish she'd write a sequel or something more.
August 7, 2020
What a fun, cleverly written story. I was originally wary about the plot premise but found well written characters and a very satisfying ending. I hope to read more by this author.
August 8, 2020
Excellent book. Well written, good sense of humor, good story line. It’s a great fantasy story and well worth reading.
September 18, 2020
I feel I should give a quick explanation for why I rated this book so low when others have largely given it high praise. This is a novel-length expansion of a short story Edghill wrote for one of the Chicks In Chainmail anthology books (edited by Esther Friesner). The original short story was excellent. This expanded version of the tale is sadly just not good. I do believe it COULD have been good, but the pacing was so slow and drawn out that I gave up on the book before getting even halfway through it. It was painfully dull with a protagonist that seemed to have too much suspension of disbelief, taking everything in stride without surprise or shock or consternation - you know, natural, realistic human emotional reactions to the impossible (at least I think that was my chief complaint about the protagonist, it's been almost 20 years since I read it, so many details have faded and I'm left just remembering how the book made me feel). The book needed a much brisker pace, better characterization and a LOT more laughs (anything to spice up the idea of person-from-the-real-mundane-world-thrust-suddenly-into-the-fantastic-and-weird-where-anything-can-happen), and frankly more depth to the main character. If things got better in the latter half of the book, I'm sad to say it just took too long to get to it to make finishing the book worthwhile. Not every short story can or should be expanded to novel length, but even if you have a story that CAN be expanded, it needs to be expanded well. This wasn't well.
April 15, 2007
The tale of an ex-Olympian gymnast turned actress who gets magically transported to a world in desperate need of a hero. A mixture of Buffy and Xena, with some truly original ideas thrown in. This book is out of print but can be read free at the publisher's website ([http://www.webscription.net/pc-458-1-...]). I've always had mixed feelings about this author and this book was no exception. The idea was a good one and I did enjoy it, but I felt as if she was trying too hard at times. Still, can't beat the price.
June 13, 2012
While this novel starts off really making fun of Xena, the meat of it is actually a rather serious fantasy story. Glory, AKA Vixen, as an actress for The Incredibly True Adventures of Vixen the Slayer and while waiting to do a special for MTV she is aproached by three people that claim to be mages that seek her help in saving their people and world. As cheesy as this plot may sound it is quite a fun story and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I was expecting this to have more comedy elements to it, but was not in the least bit disapointed with the story despite the seriousness.
February 20, 2016
This was both a fun book, and a tongue in cheek.I especially liked the ending, but you can only really appreciate the characters thinking by having followed her growth as a character, and surprises that are at the heart of the story. I believe I readthis long ago, too, but it was all the better to come upon it anew. It is one I want to look back on, & I will be reading it again....
Read
January 9, 2010baen ebook
January 10, 2011
This book was excellent as well. Very Enjoyable.
August 2, 2011
Better than I thought it would be, but it needed fleshed out or something.
June 15, 2013
Clever and entertaining even if a mite predictable. Worth the read for the sarcasm alone.
February 21, 2014
I suppose you could do worse for a Lucy Lawless Galaxy Quest AU.
May 26, 2014
Super fun, tongue in cheek romp. Love the fourth wall bending touches, nice twist on ye olde quest to defeat the big bad. Bit slow at times, but very enjoyable.
November 3, 2015
Thoroughly enjoyed despite misgivings based on both title and book jacket. Not a super complex plot, but Vixen/Glory is a great character! Well done. This was a freebie kindle ebook.
Read
May 16, 2016DNF at 7%
The humour was just a little broad for me--nothing new or original.
The humour was just a little broad for me--nothing new or original.
June 7, 2016
A hysterically romping mashup of Galaxy Quest, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and other shows, bound together with self-deprecating acknowledgement of the same. Fun read.
September 25, 2016
This was actually pretty good, but there's little characterization outside the protagonist. enjoyable, and free though!
October 21, 2010
Sort of a Xena Warrior princess book but much funnier
March 24, 2018
Buffy crossed with Xena crossed with Galaxy Quest.
April 18, 2017
In the tradition of the movie Starquest. The star of a TV show gets approached by a group of strange, remarkably small people who insist that she come with them, that she (her character) is needed to save the entire planet. Thinking it’s just another gig, she mistakenly agrees to go with them... but they don’t realize that she’s not actually a hero. Next thing she knows, she's swinging her sword for real, facing off with... is that a werewolf?
Want to read
December 24, 20144/1/2013: Free on Kindle
The blurb kind of reminds me of Galaxy Quest - which was fun :)
The blurb kind of reminds me of Galaxy Quest - which was fun :)
May 29, 2014
Xena + Buffy x Galaxy Quest. Mostly predictable but still kinda fun.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews